What is GODORT?
GODORT is the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association.

The purposes of the Government Documents Round Table are:
(a) to provide a forum for the discussion of problems and concerns and for the exchange of ideas by librarians working with government documents;
(b) to provide a nexus for initiating and supporting programs to increase the availability, use and bibliographic control of documents;
(c) to increase communication between documents librarians and the larger community of information professionals;
(d) to contribute to the education and training of documents librarians.

Who can be a member of GODORT?

Any member of ALA may elect to become a personal member of the Round Table upon payment of Round Table annual dues. Only Round Table members who are personal members of ALA receive the right to vote and hold office. [http://www.ala.org/ala/membership/docsformembership/ALAStudent10-11web.pdf ALA and GODORT offer special student membership dues rates for library school students.

Find out more about GODORT by attending our upcoming meetings and events at the 2012 Conference in Anaheim!

GODORT Annual Reception Invitation

GODORT is pleased to invite you to the 2012 GODORT Reception and Awards at ALA Annual in Anaheim. Please come and mingle with fellow documents people and with our sponsors and award recipients. Catch up with old friends and make some new ones! Please join us for snacks and birthday cake to help GODORT celebrate our 40th birthday! A cash bar will also be available. Everyone is welcome, and you do not have to be a GODORT member to attend.

The reception will be Sunday, June 24, 2012 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Fullerton Public Library, 353 W. Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton. To reach the location by rail, from the Anaheim Metro Station at Angel Stadium (215-E. Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92806) go to the next stop - Fullerton Transportation Center (122 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832) (about 10 minutes). Walk approximately 2 blocks west to the library. By bus use http://www.octa.net/ to locate the nearest bus stop. The Fullerton Transportation Center is also a bus stop.

We especially want to thank our sponsors for this event: Bernan, Marcive, Paratext, ProQuest, Readex/Newsbank, and Renouf. We could not do it without you!

RDA and Government Publications (GODORT)
Whether or not the U.S. national libraries implement RDA, records created according to this new code will be present in shared databases. This program focuses on those changes in RDA that affect government publications, including new rules for headings and authority records. Learn about decisions that will need to be made before a library implements RDA. Learn about GPO's approach to RDA and which national libraries around the world have decided to implement this new code. Important information for technical services unites implementing RDA and for public service librarians who have to interpret new catalog and database records.
Monday, June 25, 8-10 am, Anaheim Convention Center Room 201A.

Mining Gold from the 1940 U.S. Census (GODORT/RUSA_HS)
Census records are invaluable for many kinds of research--especially family history. The 72 year privacy embargo expired in April, 2012 for the 1940 U.S. Census. Librarians and researchers are eager to know what these records contain and what indexes and other finding aids will help mine this vast treasure trove of information.
Sunday, June 24, 1:30-3:30 pm, Anaheim Convention Center Room 204B

The Nuts and Bolts of Map Scanning: Building Your Map Scanning Toolbox (MAGIRT/ACRL_STS, GODORT)
Scanning maps and making them available online presents many challenged for libraries and librarians. A panel of experts will discuss the details unique to scanning maps, including project planning and costs, tools and equipment, scanning and metadata standards, access strategies, copyright issues and more. Come gather the tips and tools you need to build your own map scanning toolbox!
Sunday, June 24, 1:30-2:30 pm, Anaheim Convention Center Room 204C.

GODORT Projects

Competencies: Current - Targeted to beginning government information librarians and to general reference librarians. Includes a survey and separate parts for federal, state, & international competencies.

IGO/NGO search: A project using Google to create a search engine for Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Publishing Policies and Practices: a project to document acquisitions and collection development information specific to international organizations, national governments and the vendors with whom they work.

Several people have asked about RSS feeds for the wiki. Currently there are RSS feeds only for "Recent Changes" and a couple of other pages. However, you can use the "watch" function to have the system email you whenever a watched page (and its associated discussion/talk page) is updated. Go to the page you want to watch, and click on the "Watch" tab at the top of the page. You can also click on "My watchlist" to see and edit the list of pages you're watching.